A 5-year-old boy is showing “real signs of recovery” after being thrown off the third-floor balcony at the Mall of America near Minneapolis on April 12.
“We have good news to share with you on this Good Friday,” attorney Stephen Tillitt said, CBS News reported. “Our miracle child is showing real signs of recovery. New test results have been positive, though he remains in intensive care with a long road ahead.”
Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide after allegedly throwing the child.
A criminal complaint said Aranda was “looking for someone to kill” and wanted to go after an adult before choosing the child.
The 5-year-old suffered broken bones and a head trauma after falling nearly 40 feet, CBS Minnesota reported.
Pictured is Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda. Screenshot/ Bloomington Police Department
The FY 17-18 Audited Financial Report of the City of Santa Paula was presented on April 17, 2019, almost ten months after the close of the fiscal year on June 30, 2018. Recall that the FY 16-17 Audited Financial Report was presented on March 5, 2018, approximately nine months after the close of the fiscal year on June 30, 2017.
Presentation Key Points
A short presentation was given by Mr. Van Lant, one of the firm’s principals. He noted that the word “decreased” was incorrect on one slide and the correct word was “increased”.
Source: FY 17-18 Key Presentation Points, Van Lant
The pension liability grew to $25,075,293 from $22,609,596 for the previous fiscal year. When asked by Council Member Crosswhite about this growth, Van Lant explained that there are two factors: 1) the actuarial liabilities which is driven by an investment return CalPERS is slowly decreasing to reflect reality and 2) the percentage of salaries, which is contractually driven.
Note that if the city cannot meet its entire payment, then the balance is added to the long term liability. See chart here by searching for Santa Paula. The OPEB liability increased as well. OPEB is Other Post Employee Benefits which is primarily retiree healthcare. OPEB liability is separate from the overall CalPERS liability. As of June 30, 2018, the OPEB liability is $3,007,490.
Source:League of CA Cities
City Manager Rock inserted that CalPERS once made 11% return. To read a report about CalPERS funding, click here.
The increase (not decrease) in the General Fund was due to Measure T, which for this report is included in the General Fund total.
The unrestricted funds increase was primarily due to the addition of $650,000 from the sale of the property on South Palm.
Enterprise Fund Issues
While not discussed at council, it is important to see the degradation of the Water and Sewer Enterprise Funds. In the first chart, the current fiscal year is shown, while the second chart represents last fiscal year. Note particularly the large operating expenses in the Water Fund. While the sewer’s operating expenses have been relative consistent, the water operating expenses have increased by $2.2 million. In both years, sewer transfers monies to water. The ratio of operating revenues to expenses in FY 17-18 is 1.16, while the ratio for FY 16-17 is 1.71. The bond covenants require a ratio of 1.2 or greater, so this means the upcoming rate study will have to analyze this fund’s degradation.
Source: FY 17-18 Enterprise Funds, Van Lant
Source: FY 16-17 Enterprise Funds, Van Lant
Fire Calculation Incorrect
On packet page 154, the following statement is incorrect:
“On December 18, 2017, City Council established an Ad Hoc Committee to develop and negotiate terms of a memorandum of Agreement with the Ventura county Fire Protection District. On January 17, 2018, the Ventura Local Agency Formation Commission adopted resolution LAFCO 17-08 (The Ventura County Fire Protection District, VCFPD, and City of Santa Paula, City, propose to annex the entirety of the City to the VCFPD in order for the VCFPD to provide fire protection services to the territory within the City). This would mean that 16.5% of the 20.12% City’s allocation of property tax revenue, would be transferred to the District for Fire services. The transfer to the Ventura County Fire Protection District was effective July 9, 2018”
The actual number is 79% of the secured property taxes. This has been explained numerous times. Mike Sedell, former Simi Valley City Manager, explained this here. See second line of the chart with and without fire annexation. Pie charts are shown here. Note the slice showing Santa Paula’s share of the whole at .2088. If we give .165 to VCFPD, the remainder is .0438, which is shown in the second pie chart. The ratio of .1650 to .2088 is about 79% (.1650/.2088).
Not An Operational Document
The Audited Financial Report is designed to show that the city is meeting the governmental reporting compliance as defined by the GASB (Government Accounting Standards Board). There are no opinions as to how the operation could be improved. These are calculations which could be used for metrics.
I tend to employ Facebook the way that other people use Twitter. We could talk about why, and why I don’t like Twitter (I don’t like Facebook, either) but that’s a conversation for another time. Usually, I post once or twice a day, but this week, I found plenty to comment on. Here are some of my posts, slightly edited, and with an additional comment here and there.
Calizuela Democrat Eric Swallowell has every reason to hate and fear a heavily — and properly — armed American populace. Particularly afraid of the widely-distributed AR-15, he is precisely the kind of totalitarian turd the Second Amendment was written to protect us from.
[Speaking of turds, as long as human feces are the principal tourist attraction of his state’s city streets and sidewalks, this collectivist moron should keep his traitorous mouth shut.]
Members, supporters, and deniers of the Deep State are cowardly and sneaky traitors, skulking around inside the baseboards of Western Civilization, all too ready to throw open the gates to the brutal savages and barbarian hordes outside. [The current population has recently proven too difficult to rule; that’s why these criminal scum are so insistent on admitting illegals.]
Julian Assange is a hero, without whom we wouldn’t know the true extent and villainy of the Deep State. If not for him, we would still be their naive slaves. He deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Period.
[The government has admitted that nobody — nobody — was put at risk by the actions of Julian Assange, Bradley/Chelsea Manning, or Edward Snowden.]
Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, Ilhan Omar, and the rest of their vile collectivist ilk are exactly the same enemy that my generation, and my father’s generation fought in Vietnam and Korea. Thanks to the most cowardly and incompetent leadership in American history, we ignominiously lost those wars. Now the fight has come to us. If we lose this one, it’s the end of Western Civilization and, ultimately, of the human species.
The cleverest thing that the Deep State ever did was to convince weak-minded fools and those ignorant of history and human nature that the Deep State doesn’t exist. [Watching their apologists and deniers squirm and wriggle online as the inconvenient facts continue to come out is an education in human stupidity.]
Didn’t you know? The war in Korea was a “police action” and Vietnam was a dog’s breakfast. [One of the things that make me regret that I’m not religious is the mental image I treasure of Harry S.Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson, sizzling together on the Griddle of Hell.]
The commies who call themselves liberals have been sucking at the Gun Show Glory Hole for 20 years. These perverts belong in prison for abusing the Bill of Rights — and good taste.
Some of the items above reduced the ideological opposition to gibbering fury. I freely confess that I greatly enjoy annoying idiots and collectivists. If I can just raise their blood pressure a few points, make their stomachs churn, cost the a decent night’s sleep, and reduce their actuarial life-expectancy by only five minutes, I figure I will have done my job.
Award-winning novelist and essayist L. Neil Smith is a retired gunsmith, Publisher and Senior Columnist of L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise and the author of over thirty books. Look him up on Google, Wikipedia, and Amazon.com and watch for the forthcoming ONLY THE YOUNG DIE GOOD and ARES. He is available, at professional rates, to write columns, articles, and speeches for your organization, event, or publication, fiercely defending your rights, as he has done since the mid-1960s. His writings (and e-mail address) may also be found at L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise, at JPFO.org or at https://www.patreon.com/lneilsmith, to which you can contribute, directly. His many books and those of other pro-gun libertarians may also be found (and ordered) at L. Neil Smith’s THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE “Free Radical Book Store” The preceding essay was originally prepared for and appeared in L. Neil Smith’s THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE. Use it to fight the continuing war against tyranny.
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Community members get to vote for their favorite band in the Oxnard Salsa Festival’s first “Battle of the Bands” contest. The band with the most votes will perform at this year’s festival. The 26th Annual Oxnard Salsa Festival takes place July 27 and 28 at Plaza Park, Fifth and “B” streets in historic downtown Oxnard. Festival hours are 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. both days.
The public can choose from four bands. Information about the bands and links to performances can be found by going to https://oxnardsalsafestival.com/battle. Decide on your favorite band and vote online. Those who vote will be automatically entered to win a family 4 pack of concert venue admission tickets.
The deadline to vote is May 3.
Besides nonstop live music and dancing, the festival features a salsa recipe challenge, vendor marketplace, international cuisine and a kids’ fun zone. Presented by the Oxnard Downtowners, the festival is the place to be for salsa lovers throughout southern California. Admission and parking are free. Main stage open seating is $5. For festival information, call 805‐535‐4060, email [email protected]or visit www.oxnardsalsafestival.com and on Facebook, @OxnardSalsaFestival.
Oxnard Salsa Festival
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Do your children know the rules of the road? Are they confident in the bike riding skills?
In an effort to bring our community together and enhance safety for children on bicycles, the Ojai Police Department, in partnership with the California Highway Patrol, Ojai Green Coalition, Bike Ventura, and The Mob Shop, is hosting a bike rodeo at Nordhoff High School on April 27th from 10AM-2PM.
We will have bicycle courses for children ages 6 to 14 years of age to navigate, practice riding skills, hand signals, and proper road etiquette. We will have members from the Sheriff’s Mounted Volunteer Team, the SWAT team, and a K9 officer on hand as well for the community to meet. We will also have several bicycles to raffle off and a limited supply of helmets.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office
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Oxnard College will host the Environmental Justice Summit: Climate Action Now on Monday, April 29, at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Building (4000 South Rose Avenue, Oxnard). Exhibits with local environmental groups open at 5:30 p.m. Presentations, beginning at 6 p.m., will be followed by workshops at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Spanish, Mixteco, and American Sign Language interpretation will be provided.
Oxnard College Associated Student Government leaders are hosting the summit in collaboration with 350 Ventura County Climate Hub. The summit agenda provides attendees with opportunities to learn about the benefits of sustainable living and individual and group actions to fight climate change throughout the community. Oxnard College student leaders and guest speakers are collaborating to foster a positive impact toward the fight against climate change.
The summit will also feature information about Environmental Science degrees offered at Oxnard College. The Associate in Science in Environmental Science for Transfer degree (AS-T) prepares students to transfer into the CSU system to complete a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Science and Resource Management, Environmental Studies, or a major deemed similar by a CSU campus. With an environmental science degree, an individual can pursue a career in a wide range of areas such as environmental, marine, nature conservation, waste, and sustainability.
Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) Board Member Joshua Chancer looks forward to the summit and states, “The urgent realities of climate change are an existential threat to our youth, and even more so for our youth. The Associated Student Government of Oxnard College plays a primary role in producing this event with the goal of mitigating climate change and helping to ensure environmental justice. This summit provides an extraordinary opportunity for the college and the community to offer students our fullest measure of support.”
Environmental Physicist, Dr. Omar Clay, keynote speaker, will present, “Confronting Climate Change: Connecting the Cycles and Closing the Loops to Build a Sustainable Future.” Following Dr. Clay’s presentation, there will be short presentations from local leaders. VCCCD Trustee Chancer and City of Oxnard Mayor Pro Tem Carmen Ramirez are among local elected officials to participate in the activities. Others speakers include Tomas Morales Rebecchi, Senior Central Coast Organizer for Food and Water Watch, Adam Vega, Organizer with the Ventura County Coalition Advocating for Pesticide Safety , and Lucia Marquez, Community Organizer with Central Coast Alliance for Sustainable Economy.
Oxnard College Geography and Environmental Science Professor Jim Danza, along with Kitty Merrill of 350 Ventura County Climate Hub, will moderate the event. Attendees can choose from several different action-oriented Spanish and English language workshops and learn about opportunities to make a difference in the community.
“Oxnard College is delighted to host the Environmental Justice Summit and we are proud of our Associated Student Government for taking a strong advocacy role in protecting our natural environment,” shared President Luis Sanchez. “We believe that the great weight of scientific evidence presents a compelling argument that climate change is real, that much of it is caused by human activity, and that we are running out of time to act for the benefit of future generations. We look forward to helping identify practical solutions for course correction.”
For more information on the event, please contact Gabriela Rodriguez at 805-678-5187 or [email protected]
About Oxnard College
Established in 1975, Oxnard College is a fully accredited California Community College (part of the Ventura County Community College District), providing 10,000 students a year with academically excellent undergraduate study and career technical education programs. Students may choose from over 60 educational disciplines, culminating in transfer degrees, associate degrees and certificates. Oxnard College has strong articulation agreements established with the University of California and California State University systems, as well transfer partnerships with private universities and colleges. Oxnard College is also home to some of the state’s leading athletic programs, including a championship soccer team. To learn more, please visit www.oxnardcollege.edu
350 Ventura County Climate Hub is part of the national organization 350.org and works to create a renewable energy future by working for renewable energy and for clean air and water in our county. Inspired by the urgent need to stem the climate crisis, 350 Ventura County fights to keep water aquifers free of oil toxins, railroad lines free from oil “bomb” trains, and to save our communities from being environmental sacrifice zones-through the toxic discharges from oil production, air quality degradation from power plants, and other emitters. The word Hub in Climate Hub describes how the group connects with other local environmental groups on current issues facing our county. Meetings take place the second Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura at 5654 Ralston St. in Ventura.
Ventura County Community College District
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Ventura County Sheriff Department – Incident Press Release
On 04/16/19, at approximately 6:28 PM, Ventura County Sheriff’s Dispatch received a call from a woman stating her friend was lost in Santa Paula Canyon while returning from the Punch Bowls. The “Punch Bowls” is a popular hiking trail located parallel with the Santa Paula Creek approximately three miles from the trailhead location with 744 feet of elevation gain. The trail has been damaged from recent weather and is difficult to follow in many areas.
The reporting party told Sheriff’s Dispatch a 16 year old male hiker left the Punch Bowls ahead of his group. When the group returned to their vehicle, the 16 year old male was not there. The missing male was able to get cellphone reception and called his friends to tell them he was lost. His friends contacted Sheriff’s Dispatch and asked for help. There was little daylight left and the missing male had no flashlight and his cell phone battery was depleted.
The Upper Ojai Search and Rescue (SAR) Team and a Deputy from the Fillmore Police Department responded to the location. Members of the SAR Team were able to contact the missing male by cellular phone and gain information on his possible location. Based on the provided information, and the experience from many searches in the area, it was determined the missing male was lost in the east fork of the canyon.
At approximately 7:00 PM, multiple SAR teams were sent up the canyon to search for the subject.
At approximately 9:00 PM, the SAR Teams were able to locate the missing male, uninjured, and walked him out to the trail head where his parents were waiting for him.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and the Upper Ojai Search and Rescue Team urges all hikers to properly prepare for their day on the trails. Please take the necessary precautions to ensure your safety. Make sure you take a map of the area, as well as a compass or GPS, and be certain you understand land navigation. Be ready for any possible weather changes that may occur, take plenty of food and water, and pack additional clothing and a flashlight. If you’re not familiar with the area, stay with more experienced hikers and do not go off on your own. Before leaving for your hike, let somebody know where you will be and what time you expect to be back.
The Upper Ojai Ventura County Search and Rescue Team is a nonprofit, volunteer organization consisting of approximately 28 volunteers skilled in search and rescue operations in mountain, canyon and urban settings. The team volunteers average about 3,000 hours per year on searches, rescues and training. The Upper Ojai Team provides assistance and support throughout Ventura County and the surrounding areas as requested and approved by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. The Upper Ojai Team is capable of responding outside of Ventura County and has assisted is search and rescue operations in the throughout the State of California.
Search and Rescue, File
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Ventura County Sheriff Department – Incident Press Release
On April 17th 2019, detectives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit (PCU) assisted by the Ventura Police Department concluded a three month narcotic investigation into Linda Thompson, who was involved in the sales of suspected methamphetamine to residents of Ventura County.
Detectives located and detained Thompson near her residence and served a signed search warrant on her person, vehicle and at her residence. During this investigation detectives were able to seize approximately 1 pound of suspected methamphetamine, five loaded syringes full of suspected heroin, miscellaneous prescription medications and a large sum of U.S. currency deemed to be the proceeds from illegal narcotics transactions.
Thompson was booked into custody at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Main Jail facility for 11378 H&S – possession for sale of a controlled substance. Thompson was released after posting$50,000 bail. Thompson’s arraignment court date is scheduled for May 3rd, 2019.
The Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit is a task force made up of members from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Thousand Oaks Police Department, the Simi Valley Police Department, and the Ventura Police Department. The primary mission of the task force is combatting the transfer of legal prescription medication to the illegal market. In addition, the task force works to identify and stop new trends of abuse among the younger population and investigates overdoses due to both prescription medication and illicit drug use.
The public may also anonymously use the email [email protected]to report pharmaceutical related crimes involving prescription medications.
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On April 19, 2019 at about 9:30PM, Officers from the Oxnard Police Department attempted to stop a vehicle for a vehicle code violation in the 400 block of Cuesta Del Mar. The vehicle abruptly stopped and both the driver and passenger exited the vehicle and attempted to flee. The passenger, Larios, discarded a loaded firearm as he fled. Officers detained Larios and later arrested him for possessing a loaded firearm, a felony. The driver, a 21 year old Oxnard resident, was arrested for possession of a dangerous substance, a misdemeanor.
Anyone with information regarding this case or other criminal activity is encouraged to contact the Oxnard Police Department at (805) 385-7600, or online via the Oxnard Police Department’s website: www.oxnardpd.org, and clicking on Report Suspicious Activity. You can remain anonymous if you choose to do so. You can also remain anonymous by calling the Ventura County Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477. You can also visit this site: www.venturacountycrimestoppers.org to submit a tip via text or email.
Suspect Jesus Larios, 29 year old Oxnard resident
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Ventura Police Department – Incident Press Release
On April 19th at 7:21 PM the Ventura Police Command Center received a 911 call of subjects arguing in the area of Antelope Ln. and Llama Ct. Officers arrived on scene and located Johnson sitting in a vehicle at that location. Officers learned that the argument was a domestic incident and that the victim had visible injuries she said were caused by Johnson. Officers arrested Johnson for domestic violence. Officers saw that there was a firearms magazine with live rounds of ammunition and a can of tear gas in plain sight in the vehicle.
A records check of Johnson revealed that he has numerous prior felony convictions including one for possession of explosives and is prohibited from possessing ammunition and tear gas. Officers recovered those items and searched the vehicle for additional prohibited items. Officers located a total of three handguns, two of which were loaded. Officers also arrested Johnson for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of a loaded firearm in public, being a felon in possession of tear gas, and for misdemeanor vandalism stemming from the domestic violence incident.
Suspect:Kendric Johnson 12/2/85
No one was injured during this incident. This is an ongoing investigation, anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Ventura Police Department at 805-339- 4488.
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Neetu Chandak | Education and Politics Reporter
